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Most of our
properties offer special rates for the following
weekends. Please check each property for rates and
availability.
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MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
Friday May 27th thru Monday May 30th, 2011
Following the end of the Civil
War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or
as a memorial to those who had died. Some of the places creating an
early memorial day include Sharpsburg, Maryland, located near
Antietam Battlefield; Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg,
Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus,
Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other
cities and towns. These observances coalesced around Decoration Day,
honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days.
According to Professor David
Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial
day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race
track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp
as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died in captivity.
The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass
grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard and built an
entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard. This was a daring action
for them to take in the South shortly after the North's victory. On
May 30, 1868, the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with
flowers they had picked from the countryside and decorated the
individual gravesites, thereby creating the first Decoration Day. A
parade by thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers from the area
was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.
The official "birthplace" of
Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with
being the place of origin because it observed the day on May 5,
1866, and each year thereafter. The friendship between General John
Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A.
Logan, who helped bring attention to the event nationwide, likely
was a factor in the holiday's growth.
Logan had been the principal
speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a
cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the
idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity
as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans'
organization, Logan issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" be
observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of
the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the
anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were
decorated in remembrance.
Many of the states of the U.S.
South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering
hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were
relatively few veterans of the Union Army who were buried in the
South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April
25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and
Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.
The alternative name of "Memorial
Day" was first used in 1882. It
did not become more common until after World War II, and was not
declared the official name by Federal law until 1967 . On June 28,
1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill,
which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a
specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend.
The holidays included Washington's Birthday, now celebrated as
Presidents' Day; Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. The change moved
Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in
May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.
After some initial confusion and
unwillingness to comply, all fifty states adopted the measure within
a few years. Veterans Day was eventually changed back to its
traditional date. Ironically, most corporate businesses no longer
close on Veterans Day, Columbus Day, or President's Day, with the
day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and/or New Years Eve often
substituted as more convenient "holidays" for their employees.
Memorial Day endures as a holiday which most businesses observe
because it marks the beginning of the "summer vacation season." This
role is filled in neighboring Canada by Victoria Day, which occurs
either on May 24 or the last Monday before that date, placing it
exactly one week before Memorial Day.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND
Friday September 2nd thru
Monday September 5th, 2011
Labor Day is generally
thought of as the end of summer -- the last hurrah. School
often starts the week after Labor Day. So how did we end up
with this end-of-summer holiday?
Labor Day is celebrated the
first Monday in September. It was created by the labor
movement as a day of tribute to the contributions workers have made
to the strength and prosperity of the United States of America.
Historians aren’t one hundred
percent sure who originally came up with the idea of Labor Day.
Some believe that Peter J.
McGuire -- who was co-founder of the American Federation of Labor
and served as general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners -- first suggested a holiday to honor American workers.
Other research suggests that machinist Matthew Maguire came up with
the idea while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in
New York. (Maguire also served as secretary of Local 344 of
the International Association of Machinists in Patterson, NJ.) With
similar surnames and active involvement in labor unions, it’s easy
to see how some confusion could arise.
In any case, the holiday was
first celebrated on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882 in New York City
with a demonstration and a picnic. The second Labor Day
followed on the same date in 1883. By 1884, the Central Labor
Union shifted the day to the first Monday in September -- as the
idea had originally been proposed. New York set the example
for a “workingman’s holiday” and urged organizations in other cities
to take up the date. 1885 saw Labor Day celebrated in many
industrial areas around the United States.
Government recognition of the
holiday came in 1885 and 1886, when municipal ordinances relating to
Labor Day were passed. States moved to secure Labor Day
legislation; the first state to officially recognize Labor Day was
Oregon in 1887. That same year, four more states -- Colorado,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York -- made Labor Day official
through legislation. By the end of the 1880s, Connecticut,
Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had official Labor Day legislation on the
books. By 1894, twenty-three states had adopted the holiday.
Congress officially adopted Labor Day for Washington, DC and the
U.S. territories that same year.
Originally, Labor Day was
intended to exhibit the strength of the trade and labor
organizations -- through parades, festivals, demonstrations,
speeches, and more. So this year, don’t just think of it as
summer’s last fling… think of Labor Day as a celebration of the
people who work hard to make this country great.
BIKERS WEEKEND
September 9th thru September 11, 2011
Welcome to the official site of
the hottest, largest most exciting motorcycle rally in the
Northeast. Roar to the Shore is held annually the weekend after
Labor Day in the neon painted town of Wildwood, New Jersey. Wildwood
is host to the largest free beaches in the state of New Jersey and
is know for its Boardwalk - full of amusement rides, water parks,
games of chance and food galore. If you've never experienced the
thrill of Roar to the Shore, it's time to take the ride to biker
friendly Wildwood and see what the Garden State has to offer.
We would first like to thank
everyone who hung out with us this year through Hurricane Hanna and
helped make 2008 another successful year. With your help, we were
able to raise over $13,000 for the local chapter of the United Way.
This money will go to help feed and cloth the less fortunate. You
have proven that real bikers ride in the rain and when it comes to
people in need your support is endless.
If you thought that
2008 was a great time - just wait until you see what we have planned
for 2011! We'll still have your standard favorites like the Poker
Walk, Miss Roar to the Shore Contest and Annual Rubber Duck
Boardwalk Ride; but this year we'll be adding some new activities
and amping up our entertainment schedule.
We are expecting
100,000 to 150,000 bikes to attend this year's Roar to the Shore.
Local authorities and area businesses, too, have been supportive and
enthusiastic about the rally. Past rallies have been positive
events, for the city and for the bikers and it's our goal to keep it
that way. So get your bike gassed up, put the sunscreen in the
saddlebag and make those calls now to get your rooms and campsites
reserved, because Bike Week in Wildwood will be here quicker than
you think! You're invited - to ride free by the sea, in biker
friendly Wildwood.
FIREMAN'S WEEKEND
September 16th thru
September 18th, 2011
The Five Mile
Beach Volunteer Firemen's Association is proud to present for the
twenty-seventh year in the Wildwood's the NJ Fire Expo.
This Exposition of fire equipment and vendors of fire related
products is often described as the largest exposition of it's kind
East of the Mississippi. Fire Apparatus purchasers come
from entire Mid-Atlantic region to view and purchase equipment.
The Exposition
area is comprised of a several large tented areas where vendors of
fire related products display their wares. Then there is
a 4 block area of fire apparatus where every conceivable type is on
display.
IRISH WEEKEND
September 23rd thru September 25th, 2011
One of the biggest Irish
festivals in the country is held at the Jersey shore -- every
September, Wildwood holds the annual Irish Fall Festival! As
many as a quarter of a million people celebrate their Irish heritage
in Wildwood each year. The
Irish Fall Festival also
coincides with a large classic car show on the boardwalk; so whether
you’re a car lover or you want to celebrate your Irish heritage, the
Irish Fall Festival is the place to be in September!
The particulars of the schedule
vary from year to year, but you can expect to see vendors offering a
variety of goods, crafts, and foods with an Irish touch all weekend
long. You’ll also be surrounded by live entertainment
throughout town. The pubs and taverns of Wildwood offer
special Irish entertainment all weekend long. Traditional
music, modern Irish music, pipe bands, and much more. And
what’s music without a little dancing? Watch the traditional
Irish dances, or get up and join in the fun.
For the more sporting among us,
take part in a golf tournament at the Avalon Golf Club or join the
5K run on Saturday morning. On Sunday, expect a traditional
Mass followed by an Irish Parade. All weekend long, bus
service is available for Irish Fall Festival visitors.
The Irish Fall Festival truly
has become one of the premier Wildwood weekend events!
Proceeds from the Irish Fall Festival benefit many Ancient Order of
Hibernians charities, as the event is organized by the Cape May
County chapter. For more information on this year’s festival,
call 1-800-IRISH-91.
If you are planning to visit
during the
Irish Weekend in September,
make your reservations NOW! With a quarter of a million
visitors fighting for prime space along the bus route, you’d better
act fast… if you wait too long, the green you’ll be showing is the
green in your wallet.
1701 NEW JERSEY
AVENUE - NORTH
WILDWOOD, NJ 08260
Office:
609.522.4999
e-Fax: 866.571.9766
 
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